East drives West: Morris has China under the hood, Britain on its bonnet

As the MG Hector gets ready to drive into the country, the Chinese-owned brand is leaning heavily on its British legacy

“Hello MG! Open sunroof,” commands actor Benedict Cumberbatch as he slides into a Morris Hector. “Pardon,” says the car, forcing the otherwise unflappable British icon to do a slight double take. “When was the last time, someone said that to you?” he asks and then, more courteous and with the British accent, more pronounced, repeats the command, “Please open sunroof.” The car complies and the engine growls into life. 

The ad for the launch of Morris Garage (MG) Hector in India is just one of the many ways in which the once British and now Chinese brand, owned by Shanghai Automobile Industry Corp (SAIC), is reinforcing the legacy of the crown it once wore. MG Hector, the first car under the Morris badge to launch in India, rolls out in June. 

SAIC bought the brand in 2006-07 and even though this is the first Chinese-owned auto brand on Indian roads, the promotional narrative is all British. 

One reason is that since its inception in Britain in 1924, MG has changed hands many times. It was also owned by BMW before finding a Chinese parent in SAIC. 

The iconic octagonal badge remains in essence a British brand, says Rajeev Chaba, president and managing director at MG Motor India. It is supported by a UK Technical Center, London Design Studio as well as the home of the MG Car Club (MGCC) located in Birmingham with a register of over 70,000 members from around the globe, he adds.

The brand narrative draws on the research conducted by the company that showed that SUVs are bought “more from the heart,” says Chaba and adds, “we are confident that Indian customers will appreciate the packaging and offering of Hector as a bold, muscular, and tech-loaded SUV.” Expected to be priced at Rs 15 lakh to 18 lakh, the Hector will compete with the Jeep Compass, Tata Harrier and Mahindra XUV 5OO, among others. 

P Balendran, executive director at MG Motor India, said that the brand’s history  played a big role in the decision to enter India. “MG used to be a big brand here in the pre–independence era, therefore the recall will be very high,” he says.  

Legacy may well be the method behind the Morris branding tale but the real reason behind its all-British story, say experts, is to stave off any negative association with Chinese brands. “They have made a conscious effort to move away from any kind of misgivings that people may have because it’s a Chinese product,” says Avik Chattopadhyay, founder of brand consulting firm, Expereal. Even Hector is an Anglo Greek name, he points out. “They are not defending that they are Chinese. They are instead saying that their heritage is English,” he says.  

While the British credentials generate a buzz around the brand, the team at MG Motor is also driving home the tech specs of the new model. Last week it showcased, what it claimed is India's first internet car technology iSMART Next Gen, which will make its debut with the Hector. The screen of Next Gen is designed with a vertical interface that allows the driver to control the entire car system with just a touch or voice command. MG is also the first global brand  to bring the revolutionary Over the Air (OTA) technology to cars in India. “It is an advantage that a fundamentally strong company like SAIC which ranks 36 in the Fortune 500 list is backing MG,” says Balendran. 

With the enthusiasm around the Morris growing, Chattopadhyay says it is evident “they are putting a lot of thought into building the identity of Morris Garage.” The move to craft a British image appears to be well deliberated say experts. Besides allaying fears over an auto brand made in China, such a move is also expected to help establish the premium nature of the bran. The British connection will help open up the wallet in India, or so the company hopes.